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What was once forecasted to be a good year for Democrats, and a good year for Barack Obama in particular, hasn’t quite panned out yet. Most polls between Obama and McCain show them very close, now one is even showing McCain with a 5 point lead.
Story from Reuters:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a sharp turnaround, Republican John McCain has opened a 5-point lead on Democrat Barack Obama in the U.S. presidential race and is seen as a stronger manager of the economy, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.
McCain leads Obama among likely U.S. voters by 46 percent to 41 percent, wiping out Obama’s solid 7-point advantage in July and taking his first lead in the monthly Reuters/Zogby poll.
The reversal follows a month of attacks by McCain, who has questioned Obama’s experience, criticized his opposition to most new offshore oil drilling and mocked his overseas trip.
The poll was taken Thursday through Saturday as Obama wrapped up a weeklong vacation in Hawaii that ceded the political spotlight to McCain, who seized on Russia’s invasion of Georgia to emphasize his foreign policy views.
“There is no doubt the campaign to discredit Obama is paying off for McCain right now,” pollster John Zogby said. “This is a significant ebb for Obama.”
McCain now has a 9-point edge, 49 percent to 40 percent, over Obama on the critical question of who would be the best manager of the economy — an issue nearly half of voters said was their top concern in the November 4 presidential election.
That margin reversed Obama’s 4-point edge last month on the economy over McCain, an Arizona senator and former Vietnam prisoner of war who has admitted a lack of economic expertise and shows far greater interest in foreign and military policy.
McCain has been on the offensive against Obama during the last month over energy concerns, with polls showing strong majorities supporting his call for an expansion of offshore oil drilling as gasoline prices hover near $4 a gallon.
Politico is also reporting that McCain scored a bump from his performance at the Saddleback Civil Forum on Saturday:
He clashed with their leaders in his 2000 campaign. He struggled to gain their votes during the 2008 primaries. And he still doesn’t spend much time talking about the issues they consider most important.
But after Saturday night’s televised forum at the Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., John McCain has taken an important step toward shoring up his support among the Republican Party’s Christian conservative base.
Even as speculation swirls that McCain could choose a running mate who supports abortion rights — a move that would surely anger Christian conservatives — the presumptive Republican nominee is enjoying a lift from his performance in last weekend’s forum.
“We’re getting tons of phone calls left and right,†said George Andrews, the executive director of the Orange County, Calif., Republican Party. “Overall, people have been calling and saying John McCain did an outstanding job.â€
The forum, hosted by Rick Warren, the pastor of the 22,000-member Saddleback Church and author of the best-selling book “The Purpose-Driven Life,” featured back-to-back, hour-long interviews with both McCain and his general election opponent, Barack Obama, on subjects ranging from abortion and judicial nominations to personal moral failures.
A report from CBS News on McCain’s advantage of the convention timing:
This isn’t all bad news for Obama, I’m just betting that at some point each candidate will be up and down in the polls since that is the flow of a political campaign. McCain has had some good weeks with some very good press. Obama’s message has faltered a little, especially on offshore drilling and the abortion question at the Saddelback Forum.
We’ll see if the Obama VP choice turns these polls around, plus there is the convention coming up which always gives each candidate their own separate bounce in the polls.
(3 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)
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A McCain Presidency is the end of the United States Constitution. FOX News doesn’t want people to see that, but look at the facts. McCain has curtailed free speech with legislation and will continue to push for it. He associates himself with people who believe in caving in to the ACLU (ending religious freedom). He believes in working together with the rest of the countries of the world to form a “league of democracies”, which has been extremely detrimental to our economy and sovereignty through the UN. And if that’s not enough, he talks about his love for the Americans after visiting the scumbags of La Raza. La Raza is a group inside the US advocating overthrow of the US government. And yet McCain is OKAY?????????
Almost every single forecast for this election season has been off- Hillary didn’t take the Democratic primaries, Obama didn’t steamroll McCain, etc…
At this point, political forecasts are dead weight on my ears
Chris,
See this is the kinda crap that drives me crazy. You proclaim McCain is going to kill the constitution yet you support it by :
I’m not a big fan of the ACLU but they are (or suppose to be) a watch dog group which protects peoples rights under the constitution.
The league of nations was founded in 1919 and then turned into a group of countries which eventually was called the United Nations. So even though I agree the UN is a money pit and paper tiger it has been around a little longer than McCain, so I don’t think his support of it is a new U.S. position.
You are correct about La Raza but what you also missed was that much like the Irish Republican Army it does have members who are not advocating the overthrow of the government and those are the very folks we need to at least try to talk to. By the way Fox News covers La Raza frequently so why are slamming them in one sentence and then almost quoting them in the next ?
Todd, the biggest thing that makes this different is that McCain is going to build on the precedent Bush, Jr. and his staff have set, which has pushed us closer to a dictatorship than Woodrow Wilson or any other 20th century President. McCain will not repeal Bush’s executive orders granting dictatorial powers to the executive branch. The Constitution is more endangered than when we entered the UN, because the federal government has expanded to the point of a fascist police state. It has progressed gradually. Do we want it to go farther?
Chris, you need some help buddy.
‘Oh look honey, John is doing well in a (CHRISTIAN) forum.
Lets change our vote to him.’
How dumb are swing voters in the US? Obama and McCain have totally differend paths to take the US in. How can a debate or forum change your mind like that?
Obama has suffered many attacks during the primarys and since the final race began. The guy has always stayed nuanced, calm and very presidential.
But mister McCain is gonna defeat evil (does this guy have any intelligence at all?), so lets vote republican this year. Maybe they will clean up the mess THEY created the last 7 years.
I think Obama is in need of a game changer. McCain and whatever you think of him has done fantastic these past couple weeks by changing his game. Obama hasn’t changed his and it’s showing. This is Kerry 2004 all over again.
Actually, I think Obama doesn’t give as good as a vibe without his underdog element. When he was trailing Hillary by 30 points in the primary, I think that people flocked to him to a greater degree because he was relatively unknown yet inspiring, the classic underdog case.
By now that whole aura has changed, but who knows- maybe going into the fall as the underdog can once again renew that image of him.
Just random speculation.
It seems to me, the simple difference has been the quantity and quality of negative ads and smears favors McCain. Obama has edged negative, then jumped back over the line for a bit of a smug, hypocritical , and is uncomfortably balanced on that line. McCain seems a lot more comfortable to be brazenly hypocritical, he’s the serious umbrage contender. And the unwashed masses are eating it up.
There hasn’t been a proper fiscal conservative in office in decades, when did fiscal conservatism transform into tax conservatism and borrow-and-spend policy? I think there’s a valid case for the labels being redistributed, GOP need to start acting like conservatives or lose all credibility. Some laissez faire with regard to social issues wouldn’t hurt, and for the love of God could Abe’s party please drop the condescending religiosity, the irony is hurting me.
McCain would be my man if he was an independent - because lets call a spade a spade here - and his fiscal policy could actually beat, nay even just match the liberal ticket. A conservative VP does not a conservative policy make.
So the question is, when the fiscally responsible move is democratic, when the traditional conservative foreign policy issues are democratic, when the energy policies are evenly split, and you don’t give a damn about other pathetic media touted issues, what is a conservative to do?
The media should be able spitting out: the better tax plan for middle and working class is by X, the biggest budget deficit is by Y. This shouldn’t be a matter of opinion by the public, it should be running 24/7 on the media. If you find yourself having a debate over who has the best fiscal policy, then you are both ignorant, because referencing the numbers ends the argument.
chris, what you and other obama supporters need to understand is, NO ONE IS BUYING THAT MCCAIN IS A 3RD TERM BUSH. I THINK OBAMA IS THE ACTUAL 3RD TERM OF BUSH. THAT ARGUMENT IS BASICALLY USELESS. THE REAL PROBLEM IS, NO ONE WANTS OBAMA AS PRESIDENT. WE HAVE SEEN WHAT HE HAS DONE BEFORE ELECTIONS, AND ITS FRIGHTENING.
Dhd, “unwashed masses”??? Define, please.
GREGG, I agree, the dems have said today that their strategy at and after the convention will be to try and make the Bush/McCain image stick, but we “unwashed masses” don’t buy it now and won’t buy it in the future. But let them try, if that’s the best they’ve got, we have no worries in Nov.
By the way, back by popular demand, The One II, just released today:
http://www.johnmccain.com.....eoneII.htm
*ROFLMAO*
Babs,
That’s great. And people say that Republicans/Conservatives have no sense of humor. Classic.
So Chris, now that you’re an ultra-liberal Obama supporter, how does it feel? Given the strongly conservative views you’ve always expressed, I’d expect it’s sort of a bummer. That’s really why our two-party system is fundamentally broken. If you’re a critic of red, then you have to be blue. That’s exactly why Ron Paul never got off the group - he had plenty of support, but he was a bad fit for the current republican party.
It’s pancakes or waffles, my friend, and don’t even think about asking for eggs, because we don’t do that here. Our founding fathers thought political parties were a bad idea. Man, weren’t those guys smart?
Two party system sucks, there should be at least three.
Indiminded you’re spot on, if you don’t like elephants then you must be a donkey….LOL
But what about the Independents? well there you have everyone and anyone gathered together in an unorganised mess that struggle to figure out their asses from their elbows.
I’m sure if there was a properly organised centrist third party the Dems and the Reps would lose voters big time.
As for the video it makes no sense comparing Obama to Moses. Since Moses led the Isrealites out of Egypt then he is a great leader. Unless McCain is mocking Moses as a fictional character and not ready to lead, then it questions how religious McCain really is to mock the Bible.
I think your analogy about pancakes and waffles, but no eggs, is very astute, IndiMinded.
“If you don’t like McCain, you must be a Democrat.” (Even though McCain almost became Kerry’s running mate. Similarly, Eisenhower almost became the Democrat nominee in 1948, and yet criticism of him in his 1952 campaign would “hurt the unity of the Republican Party”.)
chris, what you and other obama supporters need to understand is, NO ONE IS BUYING THAT MCCAIN IS A 3RD TERM BUSH. I THINK OBAMA IS THE ACTUAL 3RD TERM OF BUSH. THAT ARGUMENT IS BASICALLY USELESS. THE REAL PROBLEM IS, NO ONE WANTS OBAMA AS PRESIDENT. WE HAVE SEEN WHAT HE HAS DONE BEFORE ELECTIONS, AND ITS FRIGHTENING.
McCain is Bush his thrid term beceause:
- he will continue the current foreign policys
- he will continue cutting taxes (which will be ‘good’ for the deficit)
- When the vote came to ban waterboarding, he voted with Bush
The only thing he differs form Bush is that he cares for the environment. Kudos to him for that.
GREGG, the saying goes that the people get the government they deserve. You deserve another Bush administration.
“Unless McCain is mocking Moses as a fictional character and not ready to lead, then it questions how religious McCain really is to mock the Bible.”
Pudding, you missed it again. I guess you have to be in the group to appreciate the humor. Moses is portrayed by Charlton Heston. Charlton Heston……….get it? Charlton Heston would have loved it, trust me. And it satirical - Obama undoubtedly believes he can part the waters, according to his own words.
Is any one else upset by the fact a man younger than my father can not get himself onto the internet. I would call this elitist and out of touch, who is watching his teenage kids?
Frank, I am not an Obama supporter and never have liked that scumbag. Those ties to Bush that you mentioned are NOTHIN’ compared to what he would do in other ways. For instance:
1. McCain’s campaign has included Juan Hernandez, who wants illegal immigrants to be granted amnesty and shoulder the burden of their livelihoods on American citizens.
2. McCain believes we should attack Iran because it is a “threat”, like Bush, even though it would send the world into an oil crisis and make us all under the mercy of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
3. McCain believes in curtailing free speech. Look at McCain-Feingold. It won’t stop there. I’ve read a personal account of a Navy chaplain who found no help from McCain’s staff in defending religious freedom.
Shall I list more?
Typical liberal thinking ;
A man is bad because he wants to lower taxes.
God forbid the government work under a budget like the rest of us have to.
Next time I need something I hope you guys don’t mind if I come here to solicit, you apparently believe those with money should give it to those who need it.
I want a new house so what do ya’ll say to 25% of your income going to helping me out ? If only 5-6 of you agree I can get it, 7-8 and I can get a hot tub also.
Todd, you may WANT a new house but you don’t NEED a new house, whereas some people are desperate just for some form of basic housing.
BTW: I should be buying a new house soon and you can bet your bottom dollar I’ll be getting an hot tub too ;o)
How much does the interest on our national debt stack up on a yearly basis? Something like 3 trillion dollars yearly?
Yeah, we won’t even be paying off our interest this year. It’s a great time to lower taxes. Election years are always the perfect time. We can always let our kids worry about our folly
C.S. being an Obama supporter means Bob Barr is also an Obama supporter. Why do you have to like one or the other? If you oppose McCain that means you must be a left winger? Then unleash all the partisan attacks? Well Pat Buchanan must also be an Obama supporter too.
And if you think that McCain is a proponent of one world government, then you must think that the moon is made of cheese, because you are “a left-wing conspiracy nut”. I really loathe the term “conspiracy theories” as though there are many different explanations for world events that are unvalidated.
C.S.
Well I will say I am not 100% on the same page with you on some of the conspiracy theories. But its the violations of the Constitution, Civil Liberties by both sides of the government and the North American Union which raises my eyebrows. Those things are all pretty bad and the American People as a whole are allowing it and in some cases even asking for it. Those are things which are not debatable. But connecting the dots to a lex luther scheme still is very debatable. But it doesn’t dismiss the premises that these theories are based from.
People should at least say to themselves. “Okay for argument sakes lets say this evil plot is true. Then how would they do it?” Then they see how the Constitution is becoming null and void, no accountability for abuse of powers,etc so on and so on. Then it should at least make you think.
Babs
I see you got jokes huh?
Bush tours America to see damage caused by his presidency
http://www.youtube.com/wa.....aEURwsrUSQ
John McCain vows to remove the Secret Service and replace them with his bare fists
http://www.youtube.com/wa.....YLwEEr3NzU
Their is one basic reason,in their actions, that make me vote for McCain over Obama. Obama got pot belly spending for the hospital where his wife works. Obama’s wife got a hugh raise. Can be proven by looking at their 2007 tax return. McCain is against pot belly spending. And does not get pot belly spending for his state. Many news articles support this, and Obama has not pointed out this to be not true. Which he should if he could. ps McCain does not want Judges to legislate by opionion on review. He believes Congress passes law. President can only sign or veto. Judicial can only agree or decide it is unconstitutional.
Dredsen—When somebody says something is not debateable ( so ignorant ) I say B.S………..No matter which side you are on. If you studied at a University, You would know not to write, not debateable , and should know why I said that. It puts a question mark upon any thing you write. You are saying you are right. So shut up……No. No. No